Vague pronoun

Definition

While beginning a sentence with (it, this, that, which, they, them, their, theirs, it, or its), make sure that
the reader understands the antecedent of these pronouns.

Example one

Too many antecedents

Incorrect

“Harry told Ethan that Josh suspected that he had cheated on the calories contest.”

Which “he” is the writer referring to- Ethan, Harry or Josh?

Correct

“Harry told Ethan that Josh suspected that Ethan had cheated on the calorie contest.”

Example two

Hidden antecedents

Incorrect

“The crisp plate was empty, but we were tired of eating it anyway.”

Clearly, people do not eat plates. What this writer means to say is, “We were tired of eating crisp.”
However, “crisp” cannot be the antecedent for “it” because “crisp,” situated in front of the noun
“plate,” is acting as an adjective. Only nouns can be antecedents. To revise, substitute a noun for the
pronoun “it.”

Correct

“The crisp plate was empty, but we were tired of eating crisp anyway.”

Example three

No antecedent at all

Incorrect

“The costumer called the agency, but they didn’t answer.”

In this example, the pronoun “they” has no antecedent to which it can refer. To repair this error, the
writer could change the pronoun “they” to a noun.

Correct

“The costumer called the agency, but not a single employee answered the phone.”
Pronoun used to stand for a group of words

Additionally, watch out for “this” and “which” pronouns. Remember, by definition, pronouns, which
take the place of a noun, cannot refer to an idea expressed in an entire sentence or statement;
instead, a pronoun must refer back to a specific noun.

Incorrect:

“I did not attend my best friend’s birthday party, which was really unsupportive of me.”

The word “which” has no single, clear antecedent. Instead, it refers to the entire clause – “I did not
attend my best friend’s birthday party.” Remember that a pronoun must always refer to a single, clear
antecedent.

Correct:

We can repair the above error in two ways:

Replace the pronoun with a noun - “I did not attend my best friend’s birthday party. My actions were
really unsupportive.”

Rephrase to eliminate the pronoun - “By not attending my best friend’s birthday party, I was really
unsupportive of her.”

Pronoun number

The top problem I see is errors in pronoun number. Pronouns must agree in number with their
antecedents; this rule matches that of subject-verb agreement. Plural antecedents require plural
pronouns, and singular antecedents require singular pronouns.

Incorrect:

“Each person should follow their dreams.” Here, “their” is a plural pronoun and “person” is a singular
noun.

Correct:

“Each person should follow his or her dream.” OR “All people should follow their dreams.”

Pronoun reference errors

What is pronoun reference?

A pronoun may substitute for thousands of nouns. Authors must be confident that the reader
understands which noun is being substituted. The antecedent (the noun being substituted) is not always
evident, and it is occasionally absent entirely.

Example: JJ told Simon that his brother was getting fat. (Whose brother is getting fat? The use

of “his” is not clear because “his” could be referring to JJ or to Simon.)

Example corrected: JJ’s brother is getting fat, and he told Simon

Example: I hate doing my workouts because every year they charge more money. (Who is “they”?)
Example corrected: I hate doing my workouts because every year the Gym charges more money

Pronoun agreement errors

Example: If a student wants to succeed, they must work hard. (“They” is plural trying to

replace “student” which is singular.)

Example corrected: If a student wants to succeed, he or she must work hard.

If students want to succeed, they must work hard.

Example: I love going to the park because the sound of the trees and birds helps you relax.

(Incorrect) (How do you know your reader can relax?)

Example corrected: I love going to the park because the sound of the trees and birds helps me relax.

Gender neutral pronouns

A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the
individual who is being discussed.

Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and
this has been criticized, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. use “he/his” when referring to a
generic individual in the third person. Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave
room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer
communities.

People who are limited by languages which do not include gender neutral pronouns have attempted to
create them, in the interest of greater equality.

HE/SHE HIM/HER HIS/HER HIS/HERS HIMSELF/HERSELF

zie zim zir zis zieself

sie sie hir hirs hirself

ey em eir eirs eirself

ve ver vis vers verself

tey ter tem ters terself

e em eir eirs emself

FINDING AND FIXING PRONOUN REFERENCE ERRORS

Understand the problem.

Pronouns are chameleon words. In one sentence, for example, the

pronoun he might mean Zippy the dog; in another sentence he might
replace the rock star on stage, the President of the United States,
or my lab partner Fred, who picks his nose. Just as a chameleon
changes its color to coordinate with its environment, a pronoun alters its
meaning to match the nearby antecedent, the word that the pronoun
replaces.

Problems occur when the antecedent is unclear or missing. If you say, "You
should hear her purr," you might mean your cat Lucy, or you might mean
the engine of your souped-up sports car. Her could refer to either the living
pet or the inanimate vehicle. In a conversation, we can ask, "You mean the
cat, right?" but in a piece of writing that speaks in your stead, your readers
remain confused.

When you fail to confirm that a pronoun has a single, clear antecedent, you
lose control of the picture that you want your words to create in your
readers' minds.
If you are not careful, several common situations will create unclear
pronoun reference.

Exercise caution when you have two singular

antecedents with the same gender.

Pronoun confusion is common when a sentence contains two or

more antecedents with the same gender.

To fix a pronoun reference error, you will often have to revise the sentence,
replacing the pronoun for a clear, specific noun.

No problem pronoun = no reference error!

A possessive noun should not be the antecedent for a

pronoun.

Possessive nouns function as adjectives. You can drive a fast car,

a red car, a dirty car, or Mom's car. Fast, red, and dirty are all
adjectives telling us which car. The possessive noun Mom's is adjectival
too.

You ruin the clarity of a sentence when a possessive noun is

the antecedent for a subject or object pronoun like he or him.

Use the pronoun  they with precision.

During a conversation, you can clarify a pronoun's antecedent by pointing

to someone or something.
Use the pronoun  it with precision.

Because speaking gives us very little time to edit before the audience gets
the information, we often use an it that has no clear antecedent

Confirm that the pronouns  this, that, and which have

single, clear antecedents.

Sometimes we sum up a complicated situation with a pronouncement like

"That was really cool!" or "This blew our minds!" Or we might add as a tag
to the end of a sentence, "Which amazed us all." Remember, though,
that that, this, and which all require one clear antecedent. If too many
things happened, your reader will get confused.

Use second-person pronouns only for direct address.

You, your, yours, yourself and yourselves are the second-person

pronouns. If you are directly addressing your readers, these pronouns are
appropriate. For example, you can ask a question like "Have you ever ... ?"
or "Do you remember when ...?" to connect with your readers and draw
them into your argument.

Second-person pronouns can also slip into our writing when they
are not appropriate. Sometimes we want to distance ourselves from the
material. Sometimes we so want to convince our readers of a point that we
bring them into the work when they do not belong.

Who, which, and that are not interchangeable.

The relative pronouns who, which, and that should each refer to

specific types of nouns.

Using Who

Use who when you refer to people, famous animals, or named pets.

Using Which

Use which for inanimate objects and unnamed animals.

Using That

Use that to refer to anything unnamed (though who is traditional and

preferred for people).

FINDING AND FIXING PRONOUN AGREEMENT ERRORS

Understand  the problem.

Whenever you use a personal pronoun like she, it, or they,
you first must establish its antecedent, the word that the
pronoun is replacing.

Read this sentence:

Gustavo  slowed to the speed limit when he saw the

police cruiser in the rearview mirror.

The pronoun he replaces the antecedent Gustavo. Pronouns

like he will keep you from
repeating Gustavo, Gustavo, Gustavo over and over again.

In addition, a pronoun must agree with its antecedent. To

navigate this agreement successfully, you will need to know these
singular and plural pronoun forms:

S INGULAR P LURAL

he, she, it they

him, her, it them
his, her, hers, its their, theirs
himself, herself, itself themselves
The general rule for pronoun agreement is straightforward: A
singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun; a plural
antecedent needs a plural pronoun.

Read these examples:

The boy scratched  his armpit.

The boys scratched  their armpits.

In most cases, you won't need to debate whether you need the
singular or plural form. The spoken English that you have heard
repeatedly will help you make the right pronoun choice when you
write.

Use the correct pronoun in

tricky situations.
English unfortunately includes some special agreement
situations. These will require your more careful attention.

Each and every complicate pronoun
agreement.
In math, 1 + 1 = 2. This rule applies to pronoun agreement as well.
If you have 1 singular noun + 1 singular noun, then together they
equal 2 things, making a plural antecedent.

Read these examples:

The woodpecker  and its mate tried  their  best to oust

the squirrel who had stolen their  nest.

Ronald wanted the attention of the

cheerleader  and the baton twirler, but he could not
make  them  look his way.

The plural pronouns their and them are logical choices

for woodpecker + mate and cheerleader + baton twirler,
respectively.

Two words, however, have incredible sentence

power. Each and every are singular and can strong-arm an
otherwise plural antecedent to become singular.

Observe what happens:

The worker ant and bee drank their fill of nectar in the

backyard garden.

Each worker ant and bee drank her fill of nectar in the

backyard garden.
Every worker ant, bee, wasp, and mother
hummingbird drank her fill of nectar in the backyard
garden.

Correlative conjunctions confuse

pronoun agreement.
Exercise caution when you use correlative
conjunctions like either ... or, neither ... nor, and not only
... but also. Because correlative conjunctions present pairs, you
will find two separate antecedents.

Read these examples:

Not only  the handpicked  flowers  but also  the

homemade peanut butter  pie will win Briana's heart
with its  thoughtfulness.

Not only  the homemade peanut butter  pie but

also the handpicked  flowers  will win Briana's heart
with their  thoughtfulness.

Notice that you have two antecedents, the homemade peanut

butter pie (singular) and the handpicked flowers (plural).
Use the closer of the two antecedents to determine if you need a
singular or plural pronoun.
Singular indefinite pronouns cause
problems.
Indefinite pronouns, a special class of words, will often
be antecedents for personal pronouns. Some indefinite
pronouns—despite the illogic—are singular and will often require
a singular pronoun for agreement.

S INGULAR I NDEFINITE P RONOUNS

each, either, neither, one

anybody, anyone, anything
everybody, everyone, everything
nobody, no one, nothing
somebody, someone, something

Consider these examples:

Anticipating a prank,  neither of my brothers would

take a glass of my homemade lemonade to
quench their  his thirst.
Aunt Ida will cook anything  that you pick from the
garden. Just wash them  it so that you don't dirty her
pristine counter!

Nothing  is in their  its  place after the violent shaking

from the earthquake.

Indefinite pronouns that refer to people—those that end

in body or one, for example—are trickier. When you read, you
will notice that writers have different strategies for handling these
words.

In older publications, you will find writers exclusively using a

masculine personal pronoun (he, him, his, or himself) to
establish agreement with a singular indefinite pronoun (such
as everyone):

When the lifeguard shouted,

"Shark!"  everyone  returned to his spot on the sand.

Excluding half the human race was deemed unfair, so in the late
twentieth century, writers tried to give masculine and feminine
singular pronouns equal use, like this:

When the lifeguard shouted,

"Shark!"  everyone  returned to his or her  spot on the
sand.
 Constructions like he or she and him or her created reading
experiences that were truly clunky. Plus, some individuals wanted
other people to refer to them with plural pronouns like they. As a
result, you can now find writers producing sentences like this:

When the lifeguard shouted,

"Shark!"  everyone  returned to their spot on the sand.

Other contemporary writers believe that agreement still matters,

so their solution is to avoid singular indefinite pronouns
altogether, choosing plural nouns instead:

When the lifeguard shouted, "Shark!"

the  swimmers  returned to their spots on the sand.

Not all indefinite pronouns are strictly

singular.

I NDEFINITE P RONOUNS T HAT ARE S INGULAR   OR  P LURAL

all, any, none*, more, most, some

Another group of indefinite pronouns is singular or plural,
depending on the information from the prepositional
phrase that follows.

Read these examples:

Some of this footwear smells because Tina wears it to

the barn.

Some of these shoes smell because Tina

wears them to the barn.

In the first sentence, footwear makes some singular, so it is the

pronoun that agrees. In the second sentence, shoes, a
plural noun, has all the power. Some becomes plural too,
and them is the appropriate pronoun for agreement.

*Some people consider none a strictly singular word, a

contraction of no one. We at Grammar Bytes! subscribe to the
alternative belief that none is the opposite of all, and, like all,
can be either singular or plural. Exercises here will reflect that
belief.

Learn to maintain pronoun agreement

with collective nouns.
Collective nouns name groups (which are things) composed of
members (who are usually people).
Here are examples:

C OLLECTIVE N OUNS

army, audience, board, cabinet, class

committee, company, corporation, council
department, faculty, family, firm, group
jury, majority, minority, navy
public, school, senate, team, troupe

When the members of the group act in unison—everyone doing

essentially the same thing at the same time—then the collective
noun is singular and requires singular pronouns for agreement.

Read these examples:

The family  is at the table, ready for  its  dinner,

whenever Grandma prepares her delicious chicken pot
pie.

The committee  decided to spend its budget surplus

on yo-yos for the officers.
The team agreed to host a car wash to
finance its farthest away game.

When, however, the members of the group act as individuals—

each person taking on separate responsibilities or actions—then
the collective noun is plural and requires plural pronouns for
agreement.

Consider these changes:

When Grandpa begins boiling liver, the  family  quickly

find other plans for their meals.

At the car wash, the team took their places so that

each vehicle got vacuumed, washed, and dried.

The committee  disagree if they should offer Billie

financial assistance after he suffered a concussion
during an unfortunate yo-yo accident.

If deciding whether the collective noun is singular or plural makes

your head hurt, remember that you have a couple of options.

First, you can substitute a regular plural noun for the collective

noun. Then you can use—without debate—a plural pronoun.

The team  football players  earned 500 dollars

for their  trip.
Another option is to add the word members after a collective
noun. Members is a plural antecedent and requires
a they, them, their, etc.

When Grandpa has dinner duty, the family

members  stretch  their budgets by eating dollar items
from the value menu at Tito's Taco Palace.

The committee members  wish that  they had

spent  their  surplus on soft teddy bears, not skull-
crushing yo-yos.

Unlike collective nouns, named

businesses, schools, and organizations
are always singular.
Many people comprise a business, school, or organization. For the
purposes of pronoun agreement, however, consider these three
groups singular and use it, its, or itself to maintain agreement.

Read these examples:

To increase  its profits,  Tito's Taco

Palace packs its  burritos with cheap refried beans.

Weaver High School  encourages  its students to make

leaner lunch choices, such as hot, steaming bowls of
squid eyeball stew.
The Southeastern Association of Salt & Pepper
Shaker Enthusiasts  will hold its annual convention in
Atlanta, Georgia.